• A Sloth Eats A Cat With Rabies Disease
• Signs Of Rabies In Cats
• Can Cats Carry Rabies
• Do Stray Cats Have Rabies

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Long Beach Animal Care Services wants to remind the public that rabies is continually circulating in our county. In nature, fewer than one in 1,000 to 10,000 bats are infected with rabies, but when a sick bat is found, the risk is higher. To reduce the risk of rabies: Make sure your pet is up-to-date on its rabies vaccination.

If you have been bitten by a cat and suspect a cat has rabies, get immediate medical assistance to start the anti-rabies serum treatment; if the cat shows signs of rabies, the medical treatment will begin immediately but if the cat shows no signs (especially where it's a pet cat), the doctor may require 10 days of monitoring of the cat before. Jun 29, 2015 - dangerous wild animals are invading cities and neighborhoods across the country. They are eating pets, attacking people, destroying property, and spreading rabies.

Sloth, (suborder Phyllophaga), tree-dwelling mammal noted for its slowness of movement. All five living species are limited to the lowland tropical forests of South and Central America, where they can be found high in the forest canopy sunning, resting, or feeding on leaves. Although two-toed sloths (family Megalonychidae) are capable of climbing and positioning themselves vertically, they spend almost all of their time hanging horizontally, using their large hooklike extremities to move along branches and vines. Three-toed sloths (family Bradypodidae) move in the same way but often sit in the forks of trees rather than hanging from branches.

What kind of animal is a sloth?

Sloths are mammals. They are part of the order Pilosa, which is also home to anteaters. Together with armadillos, sloths and anteaters form the magnorder Xenarthra.

How many types of sloths are there?

A total of five species of sloths exist: the pygmy three-toed sloth, the maned sloth, the pale-throated three-toed sloth, the brown-throated three-toed sloth, and Linnaeus's two-toed sloth. All sloths are either two-toed or three-toed.

Where do sloths live?

Sloths live in the lowland tropical areas of South and Central America. They spend most of their life in the forest canopy. Two-toed sloths tend to hang horizontally from branches, while three-toed sloths often sit in the forks of trees.

What do sloths eat?

Sloths are omnivores. Because they spend most of their time in trees, they like to munch on leaves, twigs, flowers, and other foliage, though some species may eat insects and other small animals.

Why are sloths so slow?

Sloths are slow because of their diet and metabolic rate. They eat a low-calorie diet consisting exclusively of plants, and they metabolize at a rate that is only 40–45 percent of what is expected for mammals of their weight. Sloths must move slowly to conserve energy.

Sloths have long legs, stumpy tails, and rounded heads with inconspicuous ears. Although they possess colour vision, sloths’ eyesight and hearing are not very acute; orientation is mainly by touch. The limbs are adapted for suspending the body rather than supporting it. As a result, sloths are completely helpless on the ground unless there is something to grasp. Even then, they are able only to drag themselves along with their claws. They are surprisingly good swimmers. Generally nocturnal, sloths are solitary and are aggressive toward others of the same sex.

A Sloth Eats A Cat With Rabies Disease

Sloths have large multichambered stomachs and an ability to tolerate strong chemicals from the foliage they eat. The leafy food is digested slowly; a fermenting meal may take up to a week to process. The stomach is constantly filled, its contents making up about 30 percent of the sloth’s weight. Sloths descend to the ground at approximately six-day intervals to urinate and defecate (see Sidebar: A moving habitat). Physiologically, sloths are heterothermic—that is, they have imperfect control over their body temperature. Normally ranging between 25 and 35 °C (77 and 95 °F), body temperature may drop to as low as 20 °C (68 °F). At this temperature the animals become torpid. Although heterothermicity makes sloths very sensitive to temperature change, they have thick skin and are able to withstand severe injuries.

All sloths were formerly classified in the same family (Bradypodidae), but two-toed sloths have been found to be so different from three-toed sloths that they are now classified in a separate family (Megalonychidae).

Three-toed sloths

Signs Of Rabies In Cats

The three-toed sloth (family Bradypodidae) is also called the ai in Latin America because of the high-pitched cry it produces when agitated. All four species belong to the same genus, Bradypus, and the coloration of their short facial hair bestows them with a perpetually smiling expression. The brown-throated three-toed sloth (B. variegatus) occurs in Central and South America from Honduras to northern Argentina; the pale-throated three-toed sloth (B. tridactylus) is found in northern South America; the maned sloth (B. torquatus) is restricted to the small Atlantic forest of southeastern Brazil; and the pygmy three-toed sloth (B. pygmaeus) inhabits the Isla Escudo de Veraguas, a small Caribbean island off the northwestern coast of Panama.

Although most mammals have seven neck vertebrae, three-toed sloths have eight or nine, which permits them to turn their heads through a 270° arc. The teeth are simple pegs, and the upper front pair are smaller than the others; incisor and true canine teeth are lacking. Adults weigh only about 4 kg (8.8 pounds), and the young weigh less than 1 kg (2.2 pounds), possibly as little as 150–250 grams (about 5–9 ounces) at birth. (The birth weight of B. torquatus, for example, is only 300 grams [about 11 ounces].) The head and body length of three-toed sloths averages 58 cm (23 inches), and the tail is short, round, and movable. The forelimbs are 50 percent longer than the hind limbs; all four feet have three long, curved sharp claws. Sloths’ coloration makes them difficult to spot, even though they are very common in some areas. The outer layer of shaggy long hair is pale brown to gray and covers a short, dense coat of black-and-white underfur. The outer hairs have many cracks, perhaps caused by the algae living there. The algae give the animals a greenish tinge, especially during the rainy season. Sexes look alike in the maned sloth, but in the other species males have a large patch (speculum) in the middle of the back that lacks overhair, thus revealing the black dorsal stripe and bordering white underfur, which is sometimes stained yellow to orange. The maned sloth gets its name from the long black hair on the back of its head and neck.

Three-toed sloths, although mainly nocturnal, may be active day or night but spend only about 10 percent of their time moving at all. They sleep either perched in the fork of a tree or hanging from a branch, with all four feet bunched together and the head tucked in on the chest. In this posture the sloth resembles a clump of dead leaves, so inconspicuous that it was once thought these animals ate only the leaves of cecropia trees because in other trees it went undetected. Research has since shown that they eat the foliage of a wide variety of other trees and vines. Locating food by touch and smell, the sloth feeds by hooking a branch with its claws and pulling it to its mouth. Sloths’ slow movements and mainly nocturnal habits generally do not attract the attention of predators such as jaguars and harpy eagles. Normally, three-toed sloths are silent and docile, but if disturbed they can strike out furiously with the sharp foreclaws.

Reproduction is seasonal in the brown- and pale-throated species; the maned sloth may breed throughout the year. Reproduction in pygmy three-toed sloths, however, has not yet been observed. A single young is born after less than six months’ gestation. Newborn sloths cling to the mother’s abdomen and remain with the mother until at least five months of age. Three-toed sloths are so difficult to maintain in captivity that little is known about their breeding behaviour and other aspects of their life history.

Causes of Pet Lethargy

By John Gilpatrick

The average dog sleeps upwards of 10 hours per day, while most cats clock a solid 12 hours of shut-eye, meaning that in a given day, there’s a 50-50 chance your pet is sleeping whenever you see them.

Though most pets spend the rest of their hours playing, eating and walking, a lot of the time, they’re likely just sitting around. Even healthy dogs and cats can appear lethargic, according to Boston Veterinary Clinic owner Dr. Brian Bourquin, any increased signs of inactivity in your pet can be indicative of a larger problem. “You know your dog the best,” Bourquin said, “and because they can’t speak up and say, ‘I’m sick!’ we have to observe their behavior closely to note any significant changes.”

There’s often a big difference between relaxed and lethargic. Nancy Williams, an Associate Certified Applied Animal Behaviorist and a Registered Veterinary Technician, said that if your pet isn’t eating, doesn’t respond when you call them, or no longer feels like playing, walking, or doing the things they normally love to do with you, something larger and potentially problematic could be going on.

Lethargy accompanies a vast majority of canine and feline medical problems, and while they might be small ones, you should immediately consult with your veterinarian as soon you observe excessive lethargy in your animal – anything more than 24 hours, Williams said. Similarly, lethargy can also be a symptom of many behavioral problems in pets.

Read on for five of the most common reasons for pet lethargy:

They’re Sick

“If your pet is abnormally calm and quiet, you need to think he's sick,” Williams says. That doesn’t necessarily mean he is sick, but the first step you have to take if your dog is acting lethargic for more than a day is to call the vet.

Then, someone like Williams (a veterinary technician who’s trained to listen to a pet owner’s concerns) will decide when it’s appropriate to bring the pet in for an examination – sometimes immediately, other times in a few days. This depends mostly on other symptoms.

If persistent vomiting or blood in your pet’s vomit or stool accompanies the lethargy, that’s extremely concerning, she said. If he skips one meal, it might just be because he’s hot, but anything more than a single missed meal and you might be dealing with a major medical issue like heartworm disease, kennel cough, problems with the heart or liver, diabetes, or tumors. The sooner these are diagnosed, the likelier your dog is to recover, so don’t hesitate if you notice something off.

They’re Frightened of Something

Williams said that many of the calls she’s received from pet owners concerned about their animal’s apparent lethargy were from brand new adopters. “One of the first questions I always ask is, ‘How long have you had your pet?’” she said.

Dogs and cats living in a new home for the first time can and probably will be a little frightened at first. This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t still call, but try spending a little more time than you might otherwise with this animal. As he adjusts to you and the new surroundings, you might find he perks up and lets his personality shine.

New surroundings aren’t the only fear that can cause a pet to act lethargically. Williams said that loud noises like fireworks, smoke alarms and gun shots as possible triggers for behavioral lethargy and while in many of these cases the symptoms are acute (come on immediately and are short-lasting), other times they persist and need to be looked at by a professional.

There’s Been a Major Change in the Household

Bourquin believes that a permanent absence of a loved one – either a human or another animal — can leave a dog or cat feeling depressed and, thus, lethargic. This can last for a few days or, depending on how close the animal was to the deceased, can change behavior long-term.

Williams said, however, that no scientific study has been conducted regarding a link between behavior changes and the absence of a loved one. If your pet is acting lethargically in other cases of absences, like someone in the family leaving for college, it’s best to consult with a vet.

Other minor changes in the household, like rearranging a room or switching up where the dog sleeps or eats, should not cause lethargy. “Ask yourself: ‘Would a normal animal be distressed by this?’ If the answer is ‘no,’ something is wrong,” Williams said.

They’re Reacting Poorly to Medication

This happens with humans all the time, so it stands to reason that prescriptions and other medications can induce side effects that leave animals lethargic, or worse.

Williams said that a lot of medications can cause serious medical problems in dogs and cats, though the only symptom they might be expressing outwardly is lethargy. If you notice a behavior change after introducing a new medication, call your vet immediately.

They’ve Ingested Something Poisonous

This is particularly likely to happen in the summertime if your dog gets into your garage or shed and ingests chemicals from lawn supplies or fertilizers that can be toxic.

Can Cats Carry Rabies

Likelier still are things that we can consume without problems that are potentially deadly to dogs, like garlic, onions, and Ibuprofen, Williams said. If you notice a change in your dog’s energy level or behavior immediately after cooking something with these ingredients or reaching for the Advil and leaving the bottle out, your pet should be examined by a veterinarian immediately.

Do Stray Cats Have Rabies